Drover and the Designated Hitter: The Third Drover Novel

Ex-sportswriter Jimmy Drover works for a Vegas sports-betting oddsmaker tracking down sports industry info that will increase his employer's profitable edge. In his third outing, following Drover and the Zebras , Drover has left his Santa Cruz home for Seattle, where he's trying to finish the spring book on pro football for his boss. There a Vegas Mafioso ``invites'' him to dig up some dirt to toss on Chicago Cubs veteran Homer White. Then White's ex-wife asks him to help bring the aging player to the Seattle Mariners as a designated hitter. White is a crusty 39-year-old redneck, softened only by his new girlfriend; his ex-wife is violently crazy and has a boyfriend who also sleeps with the mob; a turned mobster ratting for the Feds believes Drover set him up for a fall. All in the cast work on agendas of their own as the story spins out with Elmore Leonard-esque volatility. Granger, who also pens the November Man stories, may be coyly slow to reveal that Homer's new lover is black, but his snappy storytelling and sweet/gruff blend of humor sweep readers along to assorted satisfying resolutions. (June)